Party atmosphere continues as Gangwon Games prepare for final act

A medley of athletes, their entourages and spectators of all ages flocked to Gangneung Olympic Park on an uncharacteristically warm Wednesday in January for the penultimate day of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jang Mi-ran takes a selfie with a tourist from China at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon — A medley of athletes, their entourages and spectators of all ages flocked to Gangneung Olympic Park on an uncharacteristically warm Wednesday in January for the penultimate day of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.

It was the sunniest day yet of the two-week tournament, a stark departure from its snowy start. Roads closed and competitions were delayed on opening weekend in one of Korea’s coldest snaps all season.

There were children running, everywhere, in the sprawling sports complex with pockets of people hanging around in groups of different sizes.

Pairs of people — friends, parents and their children — stopped by the blue booths lined up around the plaza, offering a slate of sport and cultural experiences.

Quartets of athletes donning their national team jackets walked around outside, weaving by large tour groups with guides shouting instructions in different languages.

Troupes of school-aged children wearing name tags and matching jerseys followed adults holding up brightly-colored flags, while groups of elderly spectators gathered around others doing the same.

Two sunglassed-men making a beeline out of the hockey arena, including one decked out in a red-and-white maple leaf patterned blazer, confirmed they were from Canada, with one the father of a player on the Canadian men’s 6-team preparing for their bronze medal match.

Some people at the park had arrived at the tournament for the first time, even as competitions on the ice wound down.

Vee Vee See, who had come to Korea for a long holiday, was among a group of about 50 people who’d arrived together as part of a tour group.

See booked the trip to Gangwon through a tour company just a few days ago, but it wasn’t a spontaneous trip. She’d been seeking a way to get to the Winter Youth Olympics.

“We are from Malaysia, so we don’t have winter there,” See said. Indeed, temperatures in Malaysia this month have hovered around 27 to 32 degrees Celsius — which Korea won't see until June or July.

See, whose group joined the sea of people heading into the Gangneung Hockey Centre for the bronze medal match between Canada and Finland, said she wished there were clearer instructions for getting to Gangneung.

“The thing is, it’s free entrance, as far as I know, but I didn’t know how exactly to get here,” See said.

Still, she said she was looking forward to watching the game, as well as other activities outside of the Olympic Park scheduled by the tour company.

"I think it's going to be fun," she said.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]